Crews are in the final phase of restoring the Capitol Dome, but what they did up there for two years is far more intricate than many people may realize.
A worker rolls one of three layers of new paint onto the Capitol Dome after stripping 12-coats of lead paint off the cast iron structure.
(Courtesy Architect of the Capitol)
Courtesy Architect of the Capitol
The Architect of the Capitol is in the final painting phase of the Dome Restoration Project. Other restoration work also continues. ()
Part of the 1.2 million pounds of scaffolding is still in place as crews make final touch ups to the paint. ()
The last restoration of the Capitol was in 1959 and 1960 and the construction manager Joseph Abriatis said he hopes this work lasts as long.
(Courtesy Architect of the Capitol)
Courtesy Architect of the Capitol
“It’s like an assembly line and making sure the assembly line聽is聽running at the best efficiency it can,” said construction manager Joseph Abriatis.
(Courtesy Architect of the Capitol)
Courtesy Architect of the Capitol
“A聽lot of people don’t realize the dome is cast iron. A lot think it’s a masonry structure. But it is made out of cast iron and it’s painted dome-white to make it look like the paint sandstone on the Capitol building,” construction manager Joseph Abriatis said.
(Courtesy Architect of the Capitol)
Courtesy Architect of the Capitol
Twelve layers of lead paint were removed from the dome with an abrasive blasting technique that was contained so the paint could be safely disposed of, Joseph Abraitis said.
(Courtesy Architect of the Capitol)
Courtesy Architect of the Capitol
A worker secures a bolt in the Capitol Dome restoration.
(Courtesy Architect of the Capitol)
Courtesy Architect of the Capitol
Construction manager Joseph Abriatis said many of the dome’s ornaments were missing or needed repair.
(Courtesy Architect of the Capitol)
WASHINGTON 鈥� Crews are in the final phase of the Capitol Dome, but what they did up there for two years is far more intricate than many people may realize.
Workers are聽now taking down聽what is left of the聽1.2 million pounds of scaffolding they聽erected in the summer of 2015. But work on the dome began in the winter of 2014.
“We had thousands of inches of cracks repaired,” said construction manager Joseph Abriatis. “Any damaged, missing or broken ornaments were recast.”
Abriatis聽said the hardest part of the job was having to do only聽one project at a time.
“It’s not like a typical commercial building where you have a lot of stuff that can happen all at the same time,” he said.
The last restoration occurred from聽1959聽to 1960, and there have been聽many聽layers of lead paint added since then, he said.
“We started by removing about a dozen layers of lead paint from the dome using [an] abrasive blasting technique where all the lead waste was captured in negative-enclosed containments, vacuumed through聽a series of utility聽lines through the compound and disposed of safely,” Abriatis said.
Some of the 180 ornaments around the cupola weight up to 700 pounds and had to be safely moved down 15 levels of scaffolding to the roof where they were blasted, painted and repaired, he said.
“A聽lot of people don’t realize the dome is cast iron. A lot think it’s a masonry structure,” he said. “But it’s made out of cast iron, and it’s painted dome-white to make it look like the paint sandstone on the Capitol building.”
The goal is to be completely done by Inauguration Day, but without the scaffolding obstructing the view, they聽are聽already getting compliments on a job well done.
An award-winning journalist, Megan Cloherty is podcast host and producer of the 鈥�22 Hours: An American Nightmare.鈥� She previously served as WTOP Investigative Reporter covering breaking news, crime and courts.
